I've long struggled with my body image and have worked hard to achieve a healthy weight.

it's not his body
that changes
right away.
it's something
inside. he says
he wants to
be a little
weaker. i don't
understand.
i say 'thinner?'
and he says
'no, i want
to be stronger
in a different
way.' not
because of me,
but for me.

I try not to be neurotic; I try to create and present healthy body image.

Body acceptance means, as much as possible, approving of and loving your body, despite its “imperfections”, real or perceived. That means accepting that your body is fatter than some others, or thinner than some others, that your eyes are a little crooked, that you have a disability that makes walking difficult, that you have health concerns that you have to deal with — but that all of that doesn’t mean that you need to be ashamed of your body or try to change it. Body acceptance allows for the fact that there is a diversity of bodies in the world, and that there’s no wrong way to have one.

The scale can only tell you what you weigh; not who you are.

and when he
catches me
off guard
and says
'i love you'
i catch him
off guard
and say 'i need your help.